Hrbek prepares to turn FR Rotary presidency over to R-MA’s Derrick Leasure

Bret Hrbek, the 2019-2020 president of the 94-year-old Rotary Club of Front Royal, completed a year in office last Friday (June 26) the same way he bowed in last year – at a real-life meeting as opposed to the weekly internet “Zoom” sessions he spent his last three months presiding over.

About 40 Rotarians sat down to lunch, the first since March 12, to hear Hrbek describe what became with the pandemic; a difficult but fruitful year in office; the club fundraising during his tenure of more than $126,000 for local and international projects.

During the meeting, Hrbek welcomed his successor, Derrick Leasure of Randolph-Macon Academy, who will formally assume his presidential duties at a meeting on Friday, July 10.  Whether that will be an online or in-person meeting has not yet been announced.

Outgoing FR Rotary President Bret Hrbek recognizes Tina Maddox (left) and Ginny Musil’s help during June 26 ceremony. Courtesy Photo/FR Rotary

Hrbek said of the dollar total raised that 75% stayed in Warren County and went to such entities as academic scholarships ($16,000), the Blue Ridge Educational Center ($8,000), the JDRF (juvenile diabetes) fund ($23,000), “End Polio Now” ($12,000), and various smaller amounts to, for example, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Ressie Jeffries playground fund, House of Hope, Little League Baseball, St. Luke Community Clinic, the Warren County Heritage Society, Samuels Public Library, and a host of others. The other 25% was earmarked for international projects such as Rotary’s years-long fight to eradicate polio.

He congratulated Rotarians who had won personal awards, including Fred Andreae, the Robert E. “Bob” Miller Award for community service; Doug Stanley, recipient of the Rotary District 7570’s Douglas A. Newton Excellence in Communications Award; and Rick Novak, a Skelton Fellowship Award.

Also at the annual Rotary District 7570 Conference earlier this year, the Front Royal club took top honors for “public image” and second place for club service and international service.

During the Christmas season, Front Royal Rotary distributed a record 128 baskets of food and gifts for needy Warren County residents, including 100 children who each received warm winter coats. More recently, club members headed by Hrbek delivered food to needy “shut-ins” during the COVID-19 crisis.

Additionally, members distributed 430 dictionaries to Warren County third-graders, a popular annual event that continues into the computer age. Also, individual members could be seen on Route 522/340 picking up trash, ringing bells for the Salvation Army, running golf tournaments as fundraisers for various projects, and serving meals to young cancer patients.

In the works for this and future years, partnering with other clubs in the U.S. and other countries, are projects providing water and sanitation for schools and hospitals in Africa.

In a letter to members, Hrbek wished his successor “the best of luck” adding, because of the pandemic, “He has a difficult task before him.”